Learn Hardcore Polish: Zmywarka jest pusta, ponieważ umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki. - The dishwasher is empty because we have already washed all the plates and mugs.

myć = to wash (imperfective) – focuses on the process, not necessarily on completion.
- myliśmy = we were washing / we washed (but it doesn’t clearly say it’s finished).
umyć = to wash (perfective) – focuses on the completed result.
- umyliśmy = we (have) washed, and the washing is finished.

In this sentence, the dishwasher is empty because the action is fully completed (all plates and cups are done), so the perfective umyliśmy is the natural choice.

What does the -liśmy ending in umyliśmy tell me?

The ending -liśmy in umyliśmy gives you three pieces of information:

Tense: past tense
Person/number: 1st person plural – we
Gender of the group: masculine-personal (the group includes at least one man)

If the group were only women, you would say:

Umyłyśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki.

So:

umyliśmy → “we (with at least one man) washed”
umyłyśmy → “we (all women) washed”

Why is there no separate word for “we” in umyliśmy?

In Polish, subject pronouns (ja, ty, on, my, etc.) are usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki. = We have already washed all the plates and cups.
If you really want to stress we, you can add the pronoun:
- My umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki. (emphasis on we, not someone else)

So the default is to omit “we” unless you need special emphasis or contrast.

Why is it pusta and not pusty or puste?

The adjective must agree with the noun zmywarka in:

Gender: feminine
Number: singular
Case: nominative (it’s the subject complement after jest)

Zmywarka ends in -a, which is typically feminine, so:

Feminine: pusta zmywarka → Zmywarka jest pusta.
Masculine: pusty pokój → Pokój jest pusty.
Neuter: puste pudełko → Pudełko jest puste.

So pusta is the feminine form to match zmywarka.

What exactly does ponieważ mean here, and can I use bo instead?

Both ponieważ and bo mean because, but they differ in style:

ponieważ – more formal/neutral, often used in writing or careful speech.
bo – more colloquial, very frequent in everyday conversation.

Your sentence:

Zmywarka jest pusta, ponieważ umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki.

In spoken Polish you could absolutely say:

Zmywarka jest pusta, bo umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki.

Punctuation:

When ponieważ/bo is in the middle, put a comma before it:
..., ponieważ ... / ..., bo ...
If you start with ponieważ:
- Ponieważ umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki, zmywarka jest pusta.

What is the function of już in this sentence?

Już means already here and emphasizes that the action is completed earlier than expected or earlier than some reference point.

Umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki.
→ We have already washed all the plates and cups (the job is done).

If you remove już:

Umyliśmy wszystkie talerze i kubki.
→ Still correct, but more neutral; it simply says we washed them, without the “already” nuance.

Position is flexible:

Już umyliśmy wszystkie talerze i kubki.
Umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki.

Both are fine; już usually stands near the verb.

Why is it wszystkie talerze i kubki, and not wszystkich talerzy i kubków?

Because here talerze and kubki are direct objects of the verb umyliśmy (we washed what? → plates and cups), so they are in the accusative case.

For masculine inanimate nouns like talerz and kubek, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural:

talerz → talerze (Nom/Acc plural)
Genitive plural: talerzy
kubek → kubki (Nom/Acc plural)
Genitive plural: kubków

Wszystkie is also in the accusative plural, agreeing with those nouns:

umyliśmy wszystkie talerze i kubki (Accusative plural → objects)

You would use the genitive plural (wszystkich talerzy i kubków) in different structures, for example:

Nie mamy wszystkich talerzy i kubków. – We don’t have all the plates and cups.
(Genitive after nie mieć.)

Why is the plural talerze for talerz, but kubki for kubek? Is there a rule?

Polish has several common plural patterns; which one you use depends on the ending and type of noun.

talerz → talerze
Many masculine nouns ending in a consonant, especially soft-ish ones (-rz, -sz, -cz, etc.), form plural with -e:
- mecz → mecze
- klucz → klucze
kubek → kubki
Many masculine nouns ending in -k, -g take -i/-y:
- chłopak → chłopaki
- ptak → ptaki
- kolega → koledzy

There are patterns, but you still need to learn each noun with its plural, because there are exceptions. A good habit: always memorize singular + plural together, e.g. talerz – talerze, kubek – kubki.

Can I change the word order, for example put ponieważ at the beginning or move już?

Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible. Some natural variants:

Move the subordinate clause first:
- Ponieważ umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki, zmywarka jest pusta.
Move już:
- Już umyliśmy wszystkie talerze i kubki.
- Umyliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki. (original order)

All of these are grammatical. Word order mainly affects emphasis and rhythm rather than basic meaning. In your sentence, the default neutral order is already being used.

Is zmywarka always feminine, and how can I tell the gender of a noun like this?

Yes, zmywarka is grammatically feminine, and it behaves like a typical feminine noun:

ta zmywarka (this dishwasher)
nowa zmywarka
zmywarka jest pusta

General rule of thumb:

Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine (e.g. szkoła, kawa, zmywarka), with a few important exceptions (like mężczyzna, poeta, which are masculine).

So seeing -a at the end is a strong hint that you should use feminine forms such as pusta, ta, nowa.

Is zmywarka related to the verb zmywać? And how is that different from umyć here?

Yes, zmywarka is derived from the verb zmywać:

zmywać → to do the dishes / to wash off
zmywarka → the machine that does this → a dishwasher

However, in your sentence the verb is umyć (umyliśmy), not zmywać:

myć – to wash (imperfective, general)
zmywać – to wash off / to do the dishes (imperfective, often about dishes)
umyć – perfective partner of myć, meaning “to wash (and finish)”

You could also say in everyday language:

Pozmywaliśmy już wszystkie talerze i kubki.
(from zmywać, with a perfective prefix po-)

The sentence uses umyliśmy simply as a standard, clear way to say we have washed them completely.